Political analyst: Madrid Principle good for status quo, but not for comprehensive resolution of Karabakh conflict

ArmInfo. The Madrid Principles are good for keeping the status quo, but not for achieving a comprehensive resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, says Sergey Minasyan, Deputy Head of the Caucasus Institute told reporters in Yerevan.

He said the Madrid Principles contain a number of provisions that are inadmissible to both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Consequently, they cannot lead to any tangible results in the peace process. Minasyan is sure that an alternative document is needed.

"The consultations between the OSCE MG co-chairs and the processes in the conflict zone show that no breakthroughs should be expected in the short run. I mean that there can be no one-sided concessions in the settlement process while Baku is not ready to implement even the arrangements the two presidents made in Vienna concerning the mechanisms of investigating the incidents on the border and an enlarged office of the OSCE CiO Personal Representative in the conflict zone," the expert said. In this light, he said, all the steps that are being taken now just look to maintain the fragile peace in the region.

The Madrid Principles refer to one of the proposed peace settlements of the Nagorno- Karabakh conflict. The original version of the principles was presented to the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) ministerial conference in the Spanish capital Madrid in November 2007.

In July 2009, within the framework of the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, the three leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, Presidents Medvedev, Obama, Sarkozy, released a statement urging Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev to "resolve the few differences remaining between them and finalize their arrangement on these Basic Principles." According to that very statement, the Basic Principles for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is based on the Helsinki Final Act (1975) principles of Non-Use of Force, Territorial Integrity, and the Equal Rights and Self-Determination of Peoples.

The above-mentioned document also revealed the six elements for the settlement:

- return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control;

- an interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh providing guarantees for security and self-governance;

- a corridor linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh;

- future determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh through a legally binding expression of will;

- the right of all internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their former places of residence; and

- international security guarantees that would include a peacekeeping operation.

At the same time the OSCE Co-Chairs urged the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve the few differences remaining between them and finalize their agreement on these Basic Principles, which will outline a comprehensive settlement.